I've raced on consoles for a long time but it wasn't until FM4 that I started racing in sim-based online leagues.

I predominantly race at OZFM and LXG.

On OZFM, I recently won the Elite Class title in their V8 Supercar league as well taking the Outright title in the OTCC.

On LXG, I competed in their V8 Supercars league, with a part-time campaign last season, taking two race wins at the season finale. This season I intended on racing in the Merc, however I have switched to the Ford FGX due to setup difficulties over the first round.

This Sunday @ 6am AEDT, LXG will be running a Bathurst 1.2hr for GT-spec cars.I'll be competing in the underperforming McLaren 12C GT3. I still stand a good chance of winning the race, thanks to my good record in long distance races. I won 2 LM2.4hrs and a Spa 1.2hr outright with OZFM, previously.

Less then a week away from my next race, I've entered another Bathurst 1.2hr (this one is on OZFM) which will be this Saturday.

Unlike the LXG event, the OP Bentley GT3 is allowed in the event and there is no safety car.Since I was too slow to get in one of the Bentley's (4 of each car max), I've taken a risk and stuck with the under-performing McLaren. Sounds like a dumb move but I'll explain why...

The McLaren is the only car that can do the race on one pitstop. With this event not having a safety car, fuel economy becomes a major factor in the race. I have good enough pace to keep well within a pitstop of the quickest drivers, meaning I just have to be consistent in the race.Just as a note; tire wear is slower then fuel burn, and with Forza's inability to choose strategies, it isn't a factor.

In addition to this, I've actually done a bit of testing. The quickest car in a straight line, a stock Bentley gets to 285km/h before braking into the chase and it accelerates quickly. In contrast, the McLaren can only muster 269km/h, a whopping 16km/h slower down Conrod. Now, when you remember a car chasing you will also have the draft to assist them, I have very little chance.

I have gone with a very aggressive low-aero (minimum possible) setup which enables me to get 282km/h down Conrod and is geared to run 287km/h in the draft. This is so I can defend my position early on before the quicker drivers gap the slower drivers. Getting caught behind someone across the top will kill me and without the speed to pass down the straights, I can't afford to drop back. So hopefully dropping a fair bit of time across the top in favour of track position is a wise call.

Anyway, since the Johnnie Walker factory McLaren was sent back to Europe (lol), I have loaned a local's McLaren and have secured Achilles Radial backing thanks to my previous success with the brand:

I just checked the times and from what I can tell, I'll be in the lead after the stops but will have to defend from 3 Corvettes and a Bentley or 2 for the last 2-4 laps. Tough work, but the Corvette's will squabble with each other and the Bentley...hard to say...

Because people *cough* family *cough* love to only tell me I'm going somewhere a few hours (tops) before I have to go, it looks like I'll have to pull out of the 1.2hr race. A shame, I was looking forward to it, and thought I was in with a shot...

Anyway, I'll post up something about the 2nd round of the V8 series tomorrow.

I mentioned earlier the V8 race tonight is at Prague (reverse). It's a fictional track through the city, which is crap to race on and not very enjoyable to drive on either.

That being said, I just want to get through the round without too much drama.There are 4-6 cars that have the pace to win the title, me being one of them. I managed to come out of round 1 third in the title, which was a surprise. On raw speed, I won't win but hopefully I have some luck.

Anyway, as long as I can get a top 4 or 5 result, the round will be a success. Here is the rig I'll be running in:

Last edited by MadRacer38 on 13 Dec 2016, 10:24, edited 1 time in total.

- Qualifying - One of the quick guys didn't show up. Managed to get 4th on the grid, which was alright.

- Race 1 - 11 laps - DNFGot a great start, managed to take third around the outside of a long/awkward turn 1 and 2. Immediately crashed on the exit of 4 due the warm up lap being cancelled and having cold tires.Managed to limp around to the pits, holding 5th. One mandatory stop every race, so not all bad.Got back out and quickly recovered some time. Got past some traffic and looked to settle into the clean air for the mid-part of the race only to clip the inside wall at 3 and 4 and then nose into the outside wall. Race over, and zero points.

Edit: Better news. Whilst the reigning champ finished 1st, the current title leader ended up 6th.

- Race 2 - Reverse Grid - 6thStarted off pole, everyone behind me crashed I pitted under SC and restarted 5th.Managed to make the most of it, ended making a clean pass into the lead on lap 4...almost.An idiot decided to spin me into the outside wall. Crashed again later in the race and got rear ended but managed to get 6th.

- Race 3 - Normal - DNFStarted off 6, good start and a sneaky move into T3 meant I was running 5th. Leap frogged to 4th in the stops and the people ahead were caught in traffic. Another car lagged, smacked me into the wall, race over.

- Race 4 - Reverse Grid - 1stI won. It's a wonderful thing when people don't punt you. Good close race at the end, which I hung on for the win.

The next round is at Lime Rock which should be better for me, but with not many overtaking places, it could get messy.

The Lime Rock round is done and it went considerably better then Prague

Qualifying - 2ndAn intense quali session. The championship leader asserted his dominance early by being the only driver to qualify in the 51sec bracket. I managed to jump to 2nd in the dying minutes with the top 6 being within 6tenths of a second.

Race One - QGrid - 1stA clean start, I slotted into 2nd (barely) and began tailing the leader. He then made an early mistake which dropped him to third and I inherited the lead. I got a good buffer, pitted at lap 16 (of 20) but lost a lot of time entering the pits. The pole sitter passed me with two to go only to make a mistake at turn 1 on the final lap. I closed out the race comfortably.

Race Two - Reverse Grid - 3rdA crazy start. Threaded the needle a few times only to get pinched and drop to last again. Pitted early and ran in clean air for a long time. Ended up 3rd after the order was cleansed and finished there.

Race Three - Progressive Grid - 1stA slow start, dropped to 4th. Switched places a few times before making a bold move and getting a gap in 3rd. Closed up to the leaders and followed the 2nd placed car into the pits. A glitch meant I rejoined in front of him (score!) and powered on. A heated 6 lap battle ensued, cars threatening to pass and making looks but to avail. A sneaky bit of luck through traffic gave me a run on the leader, kept the run going up the hill when the leader ran a car width wide. I pitched the car to the inside and snuck past only for him to run further wide and hit the wall, bouncing back on into the 3rd place car. I cruised through the last 3 laps to take a commanding 11sec win and gain mega points on a few rivals.